


Cynosure

by littlelotte



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, art school au, in which takumi thinks leon is cute so he decides to draw him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelotte/pseuds/littlelotte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And that was it. Before he even realizes what he’s doing, he’s filling up the page with sketches of the boy, paying careful attention to the way his brows furrow as his eyes move down the page, the way his lips  are pressed firmly together, as if to stop himself from making audible comments on the text, the way his hair sweeps to the side whenever there’s a light gust of wind. He only stops when the train arrives, prompting the boy to scoop up his things and board, leaving Takumi in a daze as he looks down at his sketchbook to see three full pages taken up by the cute blond who just happened to sit by him during one of his practice sessions. </p><p>Leokumi fic for maya! <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cynosure

Ever since he was little, Takumi has always been told he's good at drawing.

It started out with stick figures and waxy crayon sketches of himself and his siblings, like most children his age - but he didn’t stop there. As he grew older, childish doodles started turning into developed, fully rendered pieces of art, and by the time he was in high school, he was winning awards for his hyper-realistic portraits in the annual art shows. As soon as he was allowed to, he ditched algebra and physics classes and focused mainly on art related ones: illustration, sculpture, ceramics - the like. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the arts were his strong suit, and that most academic subjects (especially any having to do with math) were not.

His guidance counselor didn’t have to tell him twice to apply to art schools for college.

It’s not that he thinks he’s particularly any good, rather, drawing is one of the only useful skills he has. Sure, he has to put up with the whole “starving artist” lecture nearly every other day of his life, but he’s fairly certain going into anything else would leave him even worse off financially, since, well, he literally has no other skills. He’s not being facetious, either. On the last day of his junior year, his math teacher pulled him aside, gave him sympathetic look and actually warned him not to go into a STEM field.

He should have been offended by that, but at the same time, he couldn’t really argue with her. She was right. Academics aren’t his thing. Art is. So on his first day at Touma college of art and design, he finds himself fitting right into the obscure, unorthodox life of an illustration major. He’s awake at odd hours of the day, he eats whatever is put in front of him, and he spends most of his free time sketching people hanging out by the train station on campus.

At first, it was a meaningless activity. He’d sit there, idly sketching whoever sat within his line of sight, mostly focusing on form and facial expression, until the day he ended up ten feet away from a blond boy around his age, reading a well-worn copy of Great Expectations and tapping his foot impatiently on the sidewalk.

And that was it. Before he even realizes what he’s doing, he’s filling up the page with sketches of the boy, paying careful attention to the way his brows furrow as his eyes move down the page, the way his lips are pressed firmly together, as if to stop himself from making audible comments on the text, the way his hair sweeps to the side whenever there’s a light gust of wind. He only stops when the train arrives, prompting the boy to scoop up his things and board, leaving Takumi in a daze as he looks down at his sketchbook to see three full pages taken up by the cute blond who just happened to sit by him during one of his practice sessions.

Takumi blinks slowly, shakes his head, then slams his sketchbook shut. Attractive or not, this is easily one of the creepiest things he’s ever done. He’d probably drop dead right then and there if this guy found out what he’s been doing.

His better judgement doesn’t stop him from coming to the station the next afternoon, though. Or the next few afterwards, because, for starters, this is his usual hangout. He _was_ here first, after all. And besides, he’d come here everyday regardless. It’s a nice, well-lit area with comfortable chairs, great food and a handful of bizarre people that make for excellent subject matter. The fact that there’s a cute boy with nice eyes and a keen interest in old books is more of an added bonus than anything else.

So he continues on like that. He watches the boy go through several huge novels, including half the Harry Potter series (which he seems to be fond of. Takumi catches him smiling on multiple occasions while skimming through it, and it makes his heart skip a beat every time because god, he has such a pretty smile).

His sketchbook is solid proof that he may or may not be a bit _too_ enamored by his subject material. While the majority of his figure drawings are simple busts or quick, full body sketches, he takes his time rendering his drawings of the blond boy until they end up looking like gray scale photographs (or, well, that’s how his sister refers to his drawings, even though Takumi still thinks they need a hell of a lot of work to get to that point).

Needless to say, he has a lot more drawings of the boy than he probably should. Even as he’s filling out one of the last pages of the book with a sketch of him smiling down at The Prisoner of Azkaban, he doesn’t stop and try to focus on one of the other people around. By now, he’s drawn the boy so much that he doesn’t really need a reference anymore, so he spends more time squinting at his sketchbook than he does staring at him.

He ends up focusing so hard on the drawing that he almost doesn’t notice when somebody leans over his shoulder and whistles.

“I had a feeling you were doing that, and I have to say, I’m impressed.”

Takumi yelps in surprise, then haphazardly closes the sketchbook, dropping his pencils in the process. He whirls around, only to see the boy he’d spent weeks drawing smirking down at him with an eyebrow raised and a knowing look in his eyes.

Shit.

Takumi shakes his head rapidly, hugging his sketchbook close to his chest and rising from his seat. “I-It’s n-not what you think, okay!? I...I -”

The other cuts him off. “Still..don’t you think it’s a bit creepy that you’ve been drawing me without my knowledge?”

Takumi feels like he’s going to pass out. He’s right, oh god, he’s _right_ \- and Takumi knew it beforehand, too. Hell, if he was going to spend hours each day sketching this guy, the least he could have done was ask for permission. For some reason, the thought didn’t even cross his mind. He has no excuse, though - this guy has every right to hate him, and to tell the whole world he’s a creep who shouldn’t -no, _couldn’t_ be trusted.

Takumi bows his head, biting his lip. He can’t bring himself to look at the boy, or off of the ground, for that matter. “Y-You...You’re right…and you have e-every right to hate me for this,” he murmurs, squeezing his eyes shut. If he actually could will himself to drop dead right here and now, he would in a heartbeat. No doubt about it.

There’s a long, pregnant pause, before the boy chuckles softly, causing Takumi to finally look up.

“Relax, I’m only kidding,” he says, still smirking. Dumbfounded, Takumi resolves to stare at the boy, blushing with his mouth hanging open. “Like I said - I’m impressed. For one, you got the nose right, and plus, I’ve never seen anybody draw that well, that quickly.”

Takumi blinks several times, then glares at the blond. “W-Wait..just what are you trying to pull here? First you say it’s creepy, now you’re complimenting me?” Had he known this guy was _this_ irritating, he would have reconsidered drawing him as often as he did. “M-Make up your mind, dammit!”

The boy laughs lightly, then shrugs. “Look, I said I was kidding, and I meant it.” He cocks his head to the side, frowning. “We’ll have to continue this conversation another time, though. The three o’clock is here.” Just as he gestures to the train, the whistle blows, causing Takumi to jump.

When the boy starts walking away, Takumi’s knuckles tighten around his sketchbook. His heart is beating so quickly he’s afraid it might burst out of his chest if given the chance. Still, after all of that, the boy complimented him, and somehow, by some miracle, maybe, didn’t seem too put off by the fact that Takumi has been using him as subject matter for the better half of a month. In retrospect, this confrontation could have gone much, much worse.

Slowly, and without thinking, Takumi calls out to him. “W-Wait a sec...what’s...what’s your name?” He nearly winces at how weak his voice sounds, but straightens out his back and plants his feet firmly on the ground. He's going to get a name out of this guy, even if he has to die of embarrassment beforehand.

The boy pauses for a moment, then turns around. “Leon,” he responds with that irritatingly cute smirk that he can’t seem to wipe off his face for any longer than five seconds. “And yours?”

“...Takumi.”

With that, Leon (it’s a nice name, actually) nods, then boards the train, leaving Takumi dazed, confused, and possibly with a huge, humiliating crush.

*

Over the next few weeks, Takumi doesn’t see Leon at all. He doesn’t even have time to head down to the train station, seeing as his exams are coming up and winter break is about to start. He’s backed up on multiple projects, and he’s had to spend quite a lot of time filling up another sketchbook with drawings of people other than Leon, because he’s pretty sure his teachers would think he’s some kind of stalker if he turned in his old one.

After the break, Takumi’s first class is in architectural design. It’s not a subject that interests him, but Touma college focuses on a liberal-arts style of education. Each student is supposed to take classes in each major before the second semester of their junior year, so even though Takumi is an illustration major, he’s being forced to take an architecture class - which involves math, much to his dismay.

To avoid having to participate, Takumi seats himself in one of the back tables in the room. He immediately pulls out his sketchbook and starts doodling leisurely, his chin resting on his left hand.

“Didn’t expect to see you here…” Takumi jumps, almost falling out of his chair. _He recognizes that voice._

Before he can properly respond, Leon pulls up a chair. Apparently, Takumi never made the connection that Leon is obviously a student here, (meaning he could easily see him anywhere on campus, not just at the station). Leon neglected to mention this, though, and to be fair, he's never seen the boy walking around campus before.

Taking this information into account, Takumi shoots Leon a glare. “I go here.”

Leon raises an eyebrow. “Oh, I know you do.” He rests his chin on his hand, as if to mimic Takumi. “I’ve seen you around.”

Takumi squints at him. “Then how come I’ve never seen you anywhere other than the station?”

Leon smiles at that. “You’ve always got your nose stuck in your sketchbook.” Well, he can’t argue with that. And there’s something strangely endearing about Leon’s smile, too - far different from that irritatingly attractive, impish smirk he seems to like having plastered on his face. (Not that Takumi necessarily minds Leon’s smirk, though, but that’s beside the point).

Takumi chews his lip, spares a glance at sketchbook, then looks back at Leon. “I, uh,” he murmurs, wringing his hands. It’s a nervous habit he’s dealt with his whole life. “S-Sorry if you’re actually creeped out by the fact that I drew you a bunch of times…” Whether Leon denies it or not, Takumi still can’t shake the feeling that the other actually _is_ disgusted with him.

Leon stares at him for a moment (a long, painful moment), before giving him this subtle, sympathetic look. “First of all, If I was freaked out by it I wouldn’t have sat next to you.” He pauses, tilting his head to the side slightly, searching Takumi’s face. “And second, people have done stranger things. I have friends who’ve done stranger things.”

Takumi balks at him. Leon leans back in his chair and admits that maybe he should have phrased that differently. He’s about to comment on that when the professor comes around with a packet detailing the specifics of the first assignment. The first thing that stands out to him, unfortunately, is the glaring, bright red text on the front page that reads: Group Project.

The classroom erupts into a mixture of murmurs, grunts, and groans as the professor prattles on about the way the assignment is supposed to go down. “There will be groups of two at the least, and four at the most,” she tells them, “You are to design an energy efficient building that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical in a real world setting. You will have two weeks to work on both the blueprints and a small-scale model of your building. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Honestly, it’s not the assignment itself that bothers Takumi - it’s the “group” part. The last time he was involved in a group project was for his physics final at the end of his senior year.

To put it bluntly, Takumi failed his physics final.

He’s half ready to get up and walk out of the classroom when Leon speaks up again.

“Do you want to work together on this? You take care of the more aesthetic stuff and I build the model?”

Takumi blinks, then frowns. “..This isn’t my major...so you’d probably be better off working with somebody who actually knows what they’re doing..” he trails off, and he finds himself staring down at his hands, which have gotten red and splotchy from all the wringing.

“Well, seeing as architectural design _is_ my major, I don’t think I’ll need to go looking for somebody else,” Leon reassures him, smiling that soft, gentle smile he had on just before, successfully making Takumi’s heart flutter in his chest as if he’s some plucky middle schooler experiencing love for the first time.

In a way, he is.

Takumi nods slowly, then tries to give the boy a warm smile of his own. “In that case...I wouldn’t mind that, then. Working with you, I mean.” Judging by the slight shift in Leon’s expression, Takumi’s almost certain his smile attempt didn’t go over as well as planned, but the fact that Leon stuck around despite it all might be reason enough to let himself get closer to him. Maybe.

Either way, he’ll have the next two weeks to find out.

*

The following Monday, Takumi finds himself in Leon’s dorm room. It’s no wonder he hasn’t seen him around campus too much. The architecture students are housed on the south campus, while the illustration majors are on the north side.

Leon’s dorm is set up like a suite. He technically shares it with three other people, but they each have their own, private bedroom with a twin bed, a mini-fridge, a closet, and a desk. He isn’t sure what he expected the boy’s room to look like, but for an art student, it’s fairly organized. Sure, he’s got a mountain of books, blueprints, and granola bar wrappers on his desk - but that’s normal. Takumi’s entire _room_ looks like that.

What stands out the most about Leon’s room, though, are the posters of familiar bands, movies and video games, all of which happen to be some of Takumi’s favorites.

“You play Legend of Zelda?” Takumi asks, eyeing the large wall scroll displaying the franchise’s telltale insignia. After everything that happened, he didn’t think he’d actually have some things in common with Leon. Compared to him, he thought Leon would be one of those cool, hipster types with niche interests that Takumi would knew absolutely nothing about. Just earlier today, he brushed up on his Harry Potter knowledge so they’d have something to talk about, even though he hadn’t read any of the books since he was a kid.

Leon nods, casually throwing his book bag down on his mattress. “I’ve played every game. You?”

“Really? Oh, well, I’ve played them all, too,” he says, smiling despite himself. He glances around the room again, before dropping his book bag by the desk and settling down on the swivel chair. “You, uh, watch Game of Thrones too?” He’s trying to make small talk, but at the same time, he’s genuinely intrigued by the fact that Leon seems to share several of his interests.

Leon plops down on the bed, reaches over to his bedside table, and tosses a book in Takumi’s general direction, which he catches, thankfully.

“Read the books,” Leon tells him, flashing a smile, “The show’s really good, but you should definitely read the books.” Sure enough, the book Leon tossed him is the first installment of the novels. It, like most of Leon’s books, is slightly beat up, meaning it’s been well read, well - and well loved.

“Thanks,” Takumi murmurs, drumming his fingers on the cover. “I’ll make sure to get back to you on it, quickly.”

Leon shrugs at that. “There’s no rush. If you ever want to borrow a book, just ask.”

Takumi nods slowly, then slips the book into his bag, careful not to cause anymore creases or bends in the cover. Through his peripheral vision, he sees Leon staring at him intently, which causes heat to rise to his cheeks. “S-So...what else do you like?” He isn’t sure, but his voice may have gone up an entire octave within the confines of that sentence. _Smooth. Real Smooth._

Leon must have noticed it, too, because he laughs lightly, then gets up, makes his way over to the desk and leans the back of his legs against the edge of the table. Just inches away from Takumi.

“Are you trying to figure out what we have in common, Takumi?” Leon is smirking again, and Takumi thinks he might actually die this time, because, well, yes, he _is_ trying to figure out what they have in common, because he kind of has a huge crush on this guy and he’d like to know if they’re compatible, which they are, but he doesn’t want Leon to think he has any dark, ulterior motives. (Is flirting an ulterior motive?)

Takumi shakes his head, then looks down at his feet. “N-No, I just…I recognized some of your posters..” It’s not a complete lie, but it’s not exactly the truth, either. Still, he’s hoping Leon will buy his explanation, because he's pretty sure he'll faint if he doesn’t.

Leon raises an eyebrow. “You recognized some of my posters…then tried to figure out what I like...so you know what we have in common.”

Takumi pushes the chair out and gets up, his fists clenched. “S-So? What’s wrong with that?!” It’s only when he’s facing Leon, standing up with his shoulders squared that he realizes how much taller the other is than him. There’s at least a half foot difference, and it almost makes Takumi want to get up on his tip-toes. If he was going to kiss him, he’d definitely have to do that. (Wait, what?)

Leon snorts, cocking his head to the side. “Nothing’s wrong with that, why?”

Takumi blinks, opens his mouth, then closes it again, ultimately deciding to sit back down, cross his arms over his chest, and glare at Leon from the corner of his eye.“You’re an ass.”

“How am I an ass?” Leon asks, feigning innocence. Actually, there’s something about that smirk that’s starting to annoy him. It’s attractive, sure, but if he’s going to keep looking at Takumi like that twenty-four-seven, then he might need to reconsider his partner for this project.

“You just are,” he huffs, pulling his knees to his chest. He takes to focusing on some of Leon’s old blueprints (which are pretty impressive, actually) hoping the other will eventually get the hint and drop the subject.

There’s a pause, and Takumi looks up to see Leon shuffle back over to sit down on the edge of his bed. “Takumi,” he starts, frowning slightly. “I’m...not trying to make you uncomfortable. If that’s what happened, then…” His voice trails off into a stutter, which surprises Takumi. Come to think of it, this is the first time he’s seen Leon look anything other than confident. “Then I’m sorry.”

Takumi presses his lips together, considering, then narrows his eyes at Leon. “So then...what exactly were you trying to do..?” In the past few seconds, Leon’s behavior, personality, and mannerisms had taken a complete one-eighty, and Takumi is going to get to the bottom of it.

Leon gawks, then stares down at floor. Despite the height difference, in this moment, Leon actually looks smaller than Takumi. “I, uh…you know. I was trying to…” He stops himself, purses his lips, lets his shoulders sag. “Flirt, I guess.”

For a moment, Takumi just sits there, his face bright red, his jaw dropped, until he can finally will himself - with a great deal of effort - to say something. “W-Wait, what?”

Leon’s leg is jiggling anxiously as he looks off to the side. “You know...flirt, I guess? I mean...you spent all that time drawing me, so I kind of figured that you liked me ...and I tried flirting with you.”

On second thought, if Takumi is ever going to pass out during a conversation with somebody, now would be the time. His mind is spinning, his ears are ringing and he’s fairly certain this is all an elaborate dream because Leon, a cute artistic boy that he apparently has quite a bit in common with, just admitted to flirting with him.

“S-So all this time ...you were trying to flirt with me?”

Leon shrugs, his face going red. “Something like that.”

“A-And you really weren’t freaked out by me drawing you?”

“I already said I wasn’t.”

Takumi nods brusquely, hugging his knees closer. “...Oh.”

Leon’s leg is still jiggling when he attempts a small, awkward smile. “You know...you should probably show me that sketchbook, actually. I kind of want to see it.”

Takumi coughs. “You really want that?” His head's still spinning, and he’s been shaking so hard, for so long, that his back is starting to hurt.

“I mean, well, yeah,” Leon replies, “And hey, maybe I’ll draw you sometime. It’s only fair, right?”

Takumi thinks about that for a moment, but eventually decides that if he’d let anybody draw him, he'd let Leon, since it settles the score between them (that, and he wouldn’t mind spending more time with him. He’d have to pose, after all). “If...that’s what you want,” Takumi sighs, trying to match Leon’s smile with one of his own.

There’s another long pause between the two of them before Leon clears his throat.

“So the project.”

“..Right.”

Leon pushes himself off the bed, then pulls up a chair to the desk. He starts rattling off ideas, and Takumi jots them down, also taking mental note of the faint blush on Leon’s cheeks, and the traces of a smile still on his lips. He isn’t entirely sure what just happened, but he knows one thing for sure: something is starting. Something is growing between them, and it’s a whole lot more than anything Takumi bargained for.

Strangely enough, though, he’s okay with that.

And maybe, just maybe, Leon is, too.


End file.
